


Strays of the Pack

by Monday_Headache



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Best Friends, Found Family, Friendship, Gen, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Angel/Gaige (Borderlands), Post-Canon, Post-Tales from the Borderlands, Rhys/Sasha implied - Freeform, Tales From the Borderlands
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 04:41:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29219649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Monday_Headache/pseuds/Monday_Headache
Summary: On a month-long search for some trace of Rhys, Fiona, or the Vault that stole them both away, Sasha finds an unexpected job offer on a billboard. Money and supplies are low, so Sasha reluctantly takes a detour from her search to accept this enticing mission. Along the way, she meets someone who will change her life forever.If you wanna jam through, while reading mit, here you go ;)https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6vxr0ZveQoqoT7pVqEweEs?si=2BywIjjoSNqfAnBpkhcNmw
Relationships: Sasha & Gaige (Borderlands)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 5





	1. Pawprints

It was a long day for the group. The sun was gleaming in a warm and sleepy tone of amber, slowly sinking behind the horizon. Right below the welkin, one could discern a sandstorm, forming a big Tube while overturning, almost like a surfing wave, growing denser mile by mile. A bunch of rakks screeched in the distance. Fast-paced footsteps left deep and short marks into the dusty sand from the savanna of the pandoran badlands.

“Come on, come on.” Sasha let out a stretched out growl.  
The sounding of her EchoCom rang *beep*  
She followed where the EchoCom's interval sounding led her. As she closed a few more yards, step by step, the interval sounding became more frequent.  
“Finally, some progress!” Encouraged by the thought of being a step closer.  
Beep… beep… buzzing a short siren like electric sound followed by booting noises of the device.  
“Damn it, why doesn’t this stupid junk work!?” With grinding teeth and tilted eyebrows, Sasha threw her Echo-Com forceful on the ground and it bounced into the nearest bush.

“Well, it’s an old dahl model, what do you expect? Crazy sensitive to weather, right?” Vaughn´s attempt to crack a joke got responded by an exaggerated eye-roll from Sasha.  
“Oh, come on, you have to admit that I'm right, the Echo 2 is pretty outdated. I'm surprised it didn’t blow up, as most models do.” he continued ranting.

“Spare me, the crap!” Her voice has gotten rough, rising an octave.

“Gee, I'm sorry alright. Didn't mean to make you mad or anything.” He tried to reason with her.

Loaderbot overheard the situation “What… the hell… happened?”

“It’s, it’s… *huff*” Sasha took a long deep breath. “It’s just, after months of search, we found a glimpse, a mere faint trace of Fiona´s signal, and now…” she looked down on her Echo Device again. Sasha was tired, tired of it all and unable to make sense of this. It was like no time had passed at all, yet everything changed in a blink of an eye. It’s been 3 months now since the entire group came together as a big family to help little (and not so little) Gortys in need. The search for the Vault had brought them all together a year and a half ago. Yet out of cruel irony, before realising what was happening, the Vault itself was it that tore them apart. To even think that she lost them for good was too much to handle on her plate. Her dearest sister Fiona, who was everything to her and Rhys… She wasn't sure what Rhys was to her, but deep inside that there was something she would’ve liked to get to know more of. It all was like a fever dream.  
“Now, everything crumbles!” She bowed her head low.

Dead silence fell over the group for a moment.  
Gortys then broke the silence as she rolled further in, next to Sasha, and put her tiny hand on one of Sasha´s legs in comfort.

“I know it’s hard. But we gotta stay strong. For them.” Gortys was just the positive guidance she needed right now.  
“I'm sure, everything will be fine.”

The group embraced her from all sides, forming a turtle shell-like wall of care and protection, just like they did after her near death experience. This time, her arm wasn't broken.

Sasha's cheeks shone rose red “Thank you guy. Cant imagine what to do without you.” Her lips spread a grin, washing her insecurities away like a spring. Even if she had to wander through the cold-hearted wastelands of Pandora to search for Rhys and Fiona, she was more than grateful, knowing these warm-hearted people by her side. Knowing she wasn't alone in this.

In a moment of surprise, Vaughn´s Echo began to rang  
“Hm, Oh, Yvette's calling, wonder what this is all about!” His forehead was forming a dent onto his noggin, the eyebrows lifted in curiosity.

“Hey Vaughn, we… We have a minor problem. You remember Henry Longfield, right?” Yvette´s mind raced a bit. More than usual.

“Oh, you mean that sneaky guy? Henry from the cafeteria? That guy is a stalker if it comes to stealing food.” Vaughn recalled, a little annoyed.

“Yeah, it’s him, but that’s not the point right now. I’ve sent him to the badlands, to check for some clues. However, half an hour ago, we lost the info on his bio vitals.” her explanation was reluctant.

“Figures, a big Sandstorm is moving closer to our location. If they were anywhere near the storm, it’s possible that they had gotten into a dead zone.”  
“By the way, you said... clues? Clues, on what?” Vaughn asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

“You mean, on who!” Yvette´s looks down, her lips moved to the side a little. Her answer was obstructed “It’s…. about him!”

The Bandit King's eyes widened a bit as he heard this information. “I'll go search for him, you can be sure of that. Just send me the location where you lost signal from him.”

“Sure, coming right up. Oh, and Vaughn, be careful out there!”

Yvette´s lips cracked up, a forced smile covering her concerned expression.

“You too, Yvette.” he slowly pushed the bottom to end the call, held his Echo down low, gazing at the empty screen for a lingering moment.

“Did something happen, to your friend?” Her innocent tone comforted him in a way that no one else achieved quite like her before. For a robot, she carried way more empathy than most humans even dream of.

“I don't know yet, for sure,” Vaughn said, almost swallowing down his own words. “but I have to find out.” His eyes shone in a mixture of determination and fear. Of course this wasn't for Henry, he couldn't care less about his food stealing ass. For the first time, he gets a clue where the fuck his best friend could've vanished into. He knew all too well what Sasha was going through the last months but did all his best to put on a bright face in front of everyone, masking how he really felt. Despite what everybody said, he was a reliable leader.

“It’s okay buddy, we are in this together.” Sasha put her left hand on his right shoulder. The warmth of her hand calmed the short-bearded clan leader. From the other side came Loaderbot, rested his right hand on the opposite shoulder, and from below Gortys rolled next to his feet and hugged them as tight as her little metal arms managed.

“You can count on us.” Loaderbot eased him.

“Thank you guys. I´m not sure what to do without you all.” his voice became almost brittle, overwhelmed by the love he received “How about, we'll get the caravan ready then?”

“Easy guys, I don't think we’ll be ready for another long ride, cause we are low on gas and food again. Might be a good idea to go for a little hunt.” she winked at them.

“Yeah. I guess, you have a point.” Vaughn agreed with her.  
“You go hunting and I'm going to search for some wood for a cookfire.”

“I can help you with that.” Gortys shined with a bright smile on her face.

“Can’t ask, for better help.” Not being left alone, Sasha´s cheeks rose at the thought of that.

“Alright, I'm off for now. Later, guys.”  
_____________________________________________________

The plateau was rather calm, only a slight windy sand-filled breeze blew from the northeast. Some trash feeders twirled in circles over the big rock formation that stood right before her eyes. It was not the most profitable time to go for a hunt. Aside to where she walked, Sasha noticed some irregular footsteps printed on the ground. They had brief intervals and one foot seemed to limp. By the looks of it, it had gotten into a fight. Sasha followed the paw prints slowly with careful steps. Following the steps for a few minutes, a rather weak but still middle-sized skag stumbled in the distance, on its way towards a little hole in the rock.

“Finally, about time one of you showed up.” Sasha thought, her fingers twitching a little. Primary, because I heard her stomach rumbling. In a classic pandoran irony of events, If one searches for those ugly beasts, It seems like they died out before them, but if one ever wants just some peace, they hoard you like a goddamn plague. Sasha squatted down, holding her Desolator close. With a well-coordinated glance through the Scope, she adjusted the sight so that the crosshair would be right above the skags heart. A short, loud shot penetrated the skag's body. The creature fell almost comically to his side on the ground.  
Sasha raised her knife, rammed it inside the skags abdomen, and cut a big hole in it. With a bit of hesitation and disgust, she separated the edible from the inedible parts, though most organs of the wildlife creature were inedible, so she had to discard most of it. The stench of the dead animal made her almost throw up. “Ugh, I knew why I hate skags.” With some precise cuts around the limbs, Sasha peeled away some skin for later, and put the spoils in her carrying bag. In the end, she tied the hollowed body around a rope.  
With an elegant swing, Sasha threw the meat-bag behind her back and moved along. Further along, the way she noticed something afar “What’s that, over there?” she thought. It was an old shack with a little garage on its side. It seemed abandoned but one can’t be sure on Pandora... Sasha drew her Atlas Silver and with little footsteps slow paced towards the little house. First, Sasha checked the windows, then she slowly walked inside, still no one at the side. “phew, everything is clear.” she sighed. When she walked outside again, she noticed a dusty billboard still intact.  
“How, can this place still have juice?” Sasha wondered as she got closer she noticed a blue exclamation mark on the board. Sasha hung the skag meat on a hook to the garage next to her, walked towards the billboard, and touched the neon light blue holographic letter.

Subject: Tediore Inferior

A female voice sounded:

“Hey there sugar, got a job for you. The tediore corporation stole something precious to me and I want it back at any cost. It shouldn’t be your loss, as you can await a very huge reward!”  
“Come, to the Badlands of Sawtooth Canyon and I'll send you all the details later. Don’t keep a lady waiting, honey…”

The voice shut off as it shrunk in its diameter until it vanished. In her mind, there was no doubt. “That… that was Mad Moxxi!” A burst of excitement washed through her head like she was about to meet a celebrity. Well, she would if she takes the job.  
“But what has tediore got, that's so important to her?” It didn't quite make sense yet, though Sasha's curiosity was awake… especially with a gun and tech manufacturer that wasn't corrupt being involved.

“If this job pays well, I think it’s worth a shot!” plans folded inside her brain, but Sasha was unsure if it suited her for the job of a Vault Hunter. She remembers Athena revealing her intentions to help her and Fiona survive. At least that was Felix was paying her for. Their former “Bodyguard” claimed that they had some untapped potential. Still, it became obvious that the Vault Hunter path was for Fiona, not for her.. But had Sasha even wanted to be a Vault Hunter to begin with? All she ever wanted was to leave Pandora for good, to a more fitting place for her, one she could call a "Home". But what good was the idea of leaving, If you lose the people you love for good?  
Then again, Moxxi pulls a lot of strings in Pandora, her influence would be of great use, she could send professional pathfinders to track down Fiona and Rhys, or send some dossiers their way! With her conflicting thoughts, she moved along in hope she would figure it out on the way. “It all would become clear, soon enough.” that she was sure of.

She took the hanging meat from the hook, grabbed a couple of things from the garage, put them into her bag, and loaded the waypoint and mission details into her Echo. As she finished, she headed back to the group again.

A couple of minutes later she returned to the team.

“Hey guys. Sorry it took me so long but, I brought you some presents.” She swung the meat from behind her back to the front and put it beneath the campfire they had set up.

“Wow, that's a good catch.” Gortys complimented her.  
Sasha nodded with a slight smile on her face.

“Oh hey Sash, good timing. Yvette sent the location of the scout. It’s near a canyon, a few hours from here.” Vaughn moved his fingers along the little holographic map and stopped with his fingers where the little red dot was.

“A canyon? Lemme see.” Sasha snatched the Device out of his hands and inspected the map further.  
“Hmm, that’s near the sawtooth canyon, an... odd coincidence!” skepticism was forming inside her brain. She wasn't sure if it was a coincidence at all.

“What do you mean, by odd coincidence?” He raised his eyebrows and looked at her.

“After I finished hunting, I took a little stroll to a lost place nearby. As I searched through the area, I noticed a job message, on a billboard.”

“Go on!” Loaderbot urged.

“Uh, you've probably heard of Mad Moxxi, right? You know, the crazy famous show-host,” Sasha gesticulated with hectic hand movements, giving the group a quick briefing “She has a lot of influence in Sanctuary. And apparently she needs some sort of retrieval, from a Tediore facility in that canyon. This might be an excellent shot to get some clarity where Fiona and Rhys might be. Besides, words on the street say that Moxxi is a reliable source, and that she pays rather well. I think it's worth checking out.”

"Tediore, huh? Man, I would've never guessed they even have the money, to afford a facility."

“Well, maybe if some corporations pay their employees reasonably and treat them like actual human beings, It'll surprise you, how well a company does without enslaving people.”

“Shots fired!” replied Loaderbot sassy.

Gortys was looking eagerly around the area “Huh, where?”

“But listen, Sash, you sure it's a good idea, to split up? I mean, not that you can't survive on your own obviously, but Fiona would shred me in half, if I let you run straight, into a secured compound all by yourself.”

She raised one of her eyebrows "Remember what type of gear I'm carrying, you know... the Atlas Silver? Uh, this baby right here, is probably the most deadly piece of art ever. I think your scout is the one you should worry about." Sasha´s lip corner rose higher on one of her cheeks, forming a smug, overly confident smile.

“Point taken. Though, you might be in luck. Yvette's gathering a small team in a chopper, to head to the contact point. So, how about we kill two rakks with one bullet? I'll meet up with the team, and you can take Loader Bot to investigate the tediore facility. Sounds good, yeah good sound?” Vaughn nodded between Sasha and Loaderbot, seeking approval for the plan.

“My new form 2.0 withstands even more bullets. This’ll be a piece of cake.” Loaderbot answered.

Sasha chuckled “Huh, can't argue with that, and if anyone stands a chance at my side, It's you buddy.”

With everything settled, Vaughn, Sasha, Loaderbot and Gortys set the camp for the night. Sasha stretched the skin around a wooden frame to tan the leather and cut the meat into more finger fair pieces to eat. Vaughn made sure the fire burned big and strong so it would last through the night. And Loaderbot and Gortys set up the beds in the caravan for the night. After the group feasted on their meal, Loaderbot and Gortys pretended to eat along Vaughn and Sash, the group all headed to the beds to get some proper sleep. Vaughn slept in the hangmat while Sasha and Gortys snuggled together on the couch. Only Loaderbot held night-watch outside to make sure they won't get surprised in the night. The Night was dark and stormy, and the road ahead of them would be a long one and they needed all the energy they got.


	2. Approach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group headed to Razortooth Canyon though the welcome... was not the warmest

That night gave Sasha a brief rest. She rolled over from one side to the other in the hangmat. Every new position she took was more uncomfortable than the one before. Her mind was racing, unable to shut down and relax. “A bit of fresh air might do the trick,” yet she was still unclear if it would help, It usually did.

She stood up and sneaked with ninja quiet footsteps past Vaughn sleeping on the couch, then approached the ladder in the back of the caravan leading to the rooftop. On the roof was nothing to hear, besides the cracking of the wood burning down from the cookfire and the hissing of rattlesnakes in the distance.

She laid down, hands behind her back, and gazed up at the midnight sky. Since she was a little tyke, she adored stargazing, dreaming about traveling the galaxy, reaching the borders of the universe and living a good life some place, where one doesn't get eaten if they left the door open in the summer. She always loved those dreams. But this night, she couldn’t enjoy it. Her mind speed walked, making her nervous. Suddenly, a distinct ear piercing robotic voice rang out next to her.  
“Hi.”  
Sasha jumped up in shock, surprised by Loaderbot next to the caravan. Of course, he had the night-watch this time.  
“Oh my god, h-hey Loaderbot. Man, you've scared the crap out of me!”  
Sasha grabbed her chest right above the heart, to calm herself a little.  
“Glad to see you though buddy, how was the night?”

“Nothing of interest” Loaderbot said, his mechanical voice almost sounded disappointed by the fact.  
“No bandit attack, no wild animal, it was quiet…”

“Yeah… I feel ya…” Sasha´s words played a sad melody as she sighed out. A short, awkward pause followed.

“Something bothering you?” Loaderbot asked.

“You could say that...,” Sasha hesitated, then diverted her attention to a fixed point in the sky.  
“You see those nebulas to the right over there?” Sasha pointed at a colorful shimmer. With the sound of an electric motor spinning, Loaderbot adjusted his head to where Sasha pointed.  
“That's called the Garden of Eden. It's a combination of gas and rock formations surrounding the gas planet of Eden. It has 7 moons, all of them are decent enough to live on. Fiona and I pretended we came from there in a lot of our cons.” Sasha exhaled out of her nose.  
“One time we said we came from Eden-2 and were on a business trip, searching for investors. One time we claimed to be circus artists from Eden-7. And of course, that one time where we tried to con Vallory out of her money.” Sasha paused.  
“The moment, where everything began…” Sasha furrowed her eyebrows down to her nose and closed her eyes.

“Some wonderful memories.” Loaderbot said as he looked up at the balcony of the van where his friend was resting.  
“I just don't know if we will ever be able to see them again.”

“Yeah...”

“Oh, come on, I’m opening up my heart here, can you at least try to show a bit of compassion?” Sasha´s arms waved around in big circles, staging her words in the theatrical manner that she felt was appropriate.  
Loaderbot tilted his head down, looking deep in the sand.

“Sorry man, I-I didn’t mean to…”

“I know.” Both sat still, silent and with no eye contact. Awkward tension was in the air as no one knew what to say next. Finally, Loaderbot spoke his mind.

“You know, I do not know how to make it up to you!”

“Uh, what do you mean exactly?”

“Back at the Vault, your sacrifice, remember?” Loaderbot looked at the roof of the caravan, waiting for Sasha´s response.

“Yeah, I… prefer not to.” Sasha rubbed her left lower arm. She could still feel the pain she endured back then, in more ways than one.  
“When the plan was about to fail, we had no time, and Gortys was nearly dead all over again, but not for you...” Loaderbot was gazing at the night sky in thought.

Sasha tilted her head, eyes moved to the left side, pensive of what she just heard.

“You were willing to sacrifice yourself, not only for us but also for the sake of Gortys.”

“Uh, of course I did, someone had to do it.” Sasha tried to play it off.

“But that special someone…,” Loaderbot moved his head to the right again, with his big red eye watching the rooftop of their caravan “was you.”

Sasha´s eyes widened as she heard that sentence. A warmth was growing in her chest, her eyes became glassy. “I-It’s not a big deal.”

“But it was. After all that Fiona and Rhys told me, I wasn't sure if they were still honest, but after that I realized.”

“Of course Loaderbot,” Sasha tilted her eyebrows inwards, her mouth shifts into a sincere smile “Gortys is my friend!”

“Yes, I know you care, that you always cared.” Loaderbot comforted her.

“I mean yeah, despite living in this hellhole, this is still…” Sasha´s sentence got interrupted by Loaderbot

“Your home, warts and all.”

Sasha got surprised as she listened to that. She never would've expected to hear someone saying the phrase, least of all Loaderbot.

“Y-yes, how did you...?” Sasha asked.

“Rhys told me that when he told me his side of the story.”

“You mean, when you forced him too!” Sasha said.

“Let's not fight here,” Loaderbot reasoned.

“Right… sorry.”

“You left quite the impression on him. On all of us!”

Sasha´s cheeks blushed in a gentle shade of red. This compliment meant the world to her.

“Don’t worry Sasha, we are going to find them, I promise you.”

“I'm gonna hold you to that!” Sasha winked at him

Sasha spent her time looking more into the stars, dreaming her life away into safety to one of those places.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The morning came fast. Vaughn and Gortys were still resting on the couch, cuddled together into a fetal positioning still in their dreamy phase. Gortys didn't really need the sleep per se, but she enjoyed human customs. Besides, she was more than happy to be close to her friends. Sasha was usually an early bird. Most of the time, she was up in the morning before the sun was even up. But not so this time. As the sun warmed her face, Sasha snapped awake to realize she’d overslept. Like a rabid stalker playing with its prey, Sasha jumped with quick movements from one place to another, cooking breakfast, waking her friends, packing their bags and talking a mile a minute.  
Soon, the two had their stomachs full enough and their eyes not tormented by sleep anymore. Everything was ready to set off, and Sasha smashed with her right fist into the Boost button and the caravan sped ahead, creating big piles of dust clouds behind it.

The foreboding rock formations of Razortooth Canyon soon crept onto the horizon. The sounding tracker of Vaughn´s echo device grew closer by every half mile as they drove towards their destination. Driving along the edge of a big hill in front of them, Sasha, Vaughn, Loaderbot and Gortys stopped at a fork in the road. Sasha heard the static through Vaughn's ECHO-Comm. A faint sound of Henry's whiny voice buzzed from the speakers. Vaughn seemed to understand him better than Sash could, or at least he was better at pretending to.  
"Right!" Vaughn said into the ECHO. "Hang in tight, Henry. We'll be there in a few minutes.”  
The white noise continued.  
“You're breaking up. I barely can hear you. Just sit tight. We’ll be there soon. Vaughn out."  
The static died out, then Vaughn and Sasha gave each other a brief look.  
"Guess it’s time to split?" Sasha suspected.  
"Hey, no need to get all emotional about it now," Vaughn joked. "This is not the last time we see each other, And who knows? Maybe we’ll even come back with at least one special someone in the luggage."

“Ha, I can’t wait.” Sasha smiled back at him.

“I’ll miss you.” Gortys cheered, hugging hers and Loaderbot’s legs.

“Aw, I miss you too, hon.”

With wavy hands, the group parted and walked their own paths. Vaughn, aided by Gortys, followed the trail downwards to Henry’s location, while Sasha and Loaderbot headed to the walkway leading to a plateau above them.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Hiking along the mountainside, Sasha inspected the scenery in great detail. It baffled her how large those immense rock formations were that formed right before her eyes.  
“This place isn't as bad as the name implies.”

She leaned forward to the edge of the rock formations and looked down. The cliff continued hundreds of feet below her, and on its surface were thousands of big razor-sharp rocks that looked like monster teeth.

“Figured as much...”  
Sasha shrugged her shoulders.  
As she raised her head again to face the roadside, the Echo-Comm chirped to life.

“Glad you came by sugar. The Tediore facility we are looking for is right at the top of that hill close to here. It's been abandoned for quite some time, so besides encountering some strolling wildlife, I think you should be safe. However, the security measurements still seem to work, so prepare yourself.”

“Wouldn't have it any other way.”  
Loaderbot nodded to her as his joints whirred from the electric motor in his neck.

Following along the path, Sasha and Loaderbot encountered a small group of Skags on the way. In a matter of seconds, 3 bigger chubby animals stormed the group, with disgusting half cut open mouths, their tongues sticking out, like they were missing their lower jaws. Sasha rolled to the side, dodging the attack of the ugly prey gripper, and with a few precise shots of her Atlas Silver, the first skag was dead quick. In good teamwork fashion, Loaderbot and Sasha double-teamed the other 2 animals. One got shot in their head while the other had their stomach ripped apart by Loaderbot’s shotgun.

A few yards ahead was a small formation of skags fighting another creature. It appeared the other animal was holding up well enough on its own. With her Atlas Silver pulled to the stop, Sasha pointed her gun at the skag group, not knowing if they got stormed or not.

The polar white wolf-like creature opened his jaw, rushed at the last skag, took a bite into the neck of its foe, and ripped the skag to death. Blood smeared on its face, the creature turned his head to face Sasha and Loaderbot. The wolf stood still, snarling with clenched teeth. Its piercing deep blue eyes bore deep into the groups' faces. It made careful tiny steps towards Sasha, still with a very threatening look on its face. Sasha inspected the beast. Around the neck, there was a small dangling necklace.  
“Is that... a Nametag?” Sasha wondered. Further inspecting the wolf, she noticed a bunch of scales spread all across its body. Soon after, a wounded skag rushed from the side, bashing the wolf's head with their claws. The image of the white wolf fainted, revealing a synthetic created animal robot, hidden under a holographic disguise…  
Well, that was… unexpected. Sasha thought to herself. By looking more deeply, she also noticed some robotic joints around the knees and paws. It was proof enough to her. This wolf was a robot, and it belonged to someone around here.  
Sasha slowly lowered her gun and eased her posture into a more relaxed one. The wolf acknowledged the peace offer, took another long look at them both and then it quickly hasted upwards, jumping on top of the cliff walls that surrounded the path from the right side. The wolf howled with its robotic voice an echo in the distance, then jumped out of sight.

“I think it pointed us in the direction!?” Sasha said, unsure of what was about to come next.

“Ladies first” Loaderbot replied, his hand waved forward as if he had cleared the room for her.

Sasha rolled her eyes and drooped her upper body forwards.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Further along, heading towards the plateau, the two spotted something from afar. A building with several wings unfolded before their eyes, obscured by the heat haze shimmering off its metallic surface in the sun.

“Guess that’s what we are searching for.” Loaderbot stated his observation.

“Guess so.” She replied.

As both drew closer to the entrance of the facility, Moxxi called for a rather quick update.

“Nice work, sweetie. As you get inside the building, there is a locked tech lab in the backside wing. In there, there are blueprints I need for a minor project of mine. Do ´ol Moxxi a favor and bring them to me. Oh, and one thing: I just forgot to mention, I also sent one of my best hunters to help you out on the job.”

“One of her best hunters?” Sasha tilted her eyebrows, wondering why she needed to send out her best in the first place, but at the time she felt a mix between fear and excitement.  
Not long after she could finish that thought, both Loaderbot and Sasha heard several bursts of what sounded a lot like a shotgun. Not long after, three bandits fell down from the protruding rocks above them, crashing to the ground like thrash thrown out of a window.

Then a powerful scream rang out “ANARCHY” like a battle horn. A red-haired young woman with black and white stockings jumped from the rock formations above and landed in a very, let’s say, overly dramatic kind of pose on the ground.

Sasha wondered: “Is this the help Moxxi was talking about?”. Her equipment was unparalleled. Sasha recognized it quickly. In her hands, she held a legendary Torgue shotgun. On one side of her hip dangled a little red and white lunchbox from her belt. On the other side, she had a Vladof assault rifle that appeared to be a Hail, incendiary element at that. Sasha thought: Whoever this person is, she has some good taste.

Sasha inhaled nervously. “Well, here goes nothing.”

“I'm sure everything will be fine.” Loaderbot reassured her.  
As they stepped a few meters further into the scene that played out before their eyes, a sharp gunshot landed right next to Sasha’s left foot.

“HEY, what the hell? Watch where you point that thing!” Sasha screamed furiously at her, almost leaving her with a sore throat; partly out of shock and partly out of a sheer rush of adrenaline. In reflex to that, she flicked her Atlas Silver and pointed it back at the young girl.

“I won’t let you steal what belongs to Moxxi, you hear me?!” The threats didn't bother Sasha.

“W-wait, did you say Moxxi? You must be with the Crimson Raiders then, right?” Sasha tried to make sense out of all that happened right before her.

“I used to, yeah, but not anymore. I work alone now ...” The girl's mood suddenly lifted. She moved her head a bit to the side, looking at the ground.  
“I mean man, I always dreamed of meeting one of the badass legendary mercenaries…” Sasha paused for a bit, “but I never would’ve guessed that I would almost get shot to death by a young brat.”

The young woman gasped in a high-pitched tone of dismay “You did not just say that!”

“Maybe you should try to, I dunno use your brain and talk before you nearly shoot the legs of my body. How about that?” Her posture was at a very high-stress level.

“Stop, both of you” Loaderbot´s forceful robotic voice intervened between the 2 ladies. Soon after, both of them took a deep breath and put their guns down.  
“What my partner here was about to say is, that we also took a job from Moxxi. She told us to be here.”

“Gosh damn, why didn't you say so before? The name is Gaige, Moxxi sent me out here to company you out here in the wastelands.” Gaige´s short temper changed drastically fast to a very chipper demeanor.

“Oh yeah, what a great help you were, a few seconds in and...”

“AHEM!” Loaderbot grunted.

“Ugh, fine….” her voice became tight as she rolled her eyes a little to the side and breathed out a little of stress she just had built up. “The name’s Sasha and this fellow next to me is my friend Loaderbot.” Her posture became slightly relaxed to the Vault Hunter facing her. Still, she wasn't sure what to think of the sudden change of emotion she received from her.

“Nice to meet ya. I'm usually, with my BFF, but he’s resting for now… been pretty worn out from all the mobs we faced earlier. His claws could need some sharpening as well.”

“You have a pet with you? I hope it wasn't one skag we faced earlier, cause well I might have some bad news for you...”

“Oh, don't you worry, you will meet my DT soon enough.” Gaige tilted her head cheerily to the side and winked with one eye at the two of them.

“Sure, can’t wait.”  
Gaige, Sasha and Loaderbot gave each other a quick glance before they entered the Facility.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks that you decide to read about my headcanon for Sasha and Gaige becoming best friends in the most unusual fashion one can imagine. This story plays out at the beginning of the Commander Lilith DLC, the only difference is that Vaughn didn´t meet Lilith and the Crimson Raiders, the Children of Helios are still a thing and not suddenly killed off and the group of vault hunters went on their route after Handsome Jack died. This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction, Borderlands related or not, so if this thing is going down the skaghole… well, you were being warned ;D  
> See the end of the work for more notes.
> 
> Huge shoutouts to [MichellesPenScratchz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MichellesPenScratchz) and [Frankenjoly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/frankenjoly) for their amazing support and help on this project <3 Wouldn´t be here if they wouldn´t have encouraged me
> 
> Special thanks also to [AnnaLytic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaLytic) for her beta reading and for improving my story immensely


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